Adam Lallana is set to leave Liverpool once his contract expires at the end of the season after seven years on Merseyside.
The 31-year-old had been tipped to sign a new deal after impressing Jürgen Klopp at times this season, although his lack of game time since the start of the campaign left many feeling as though he was an expendable member of the squad.
Liverpool are understood to be closing in on a £7.25m deal for Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Takumi Minamino, who can operate in a similar role to Lallana. When asked whether the Japan international will take Lallana's place in the squad, The Athletic's James Pearce revealed that the Englishman is set to leave the club next summer.
"I'm not sure if [Minamino] is viewed as the Lallana replacement but it certainly strengthens that area of the squad," Pearce said. "Lallana will leave at the end of the season."
The Englishman has managed ten appearances in all competitions this season, but has started just two Premier League games as Klopp has struggled to find a place for him in Liverpool's exciting attacking line.
His injury struggles have plagued his time at Anfield. Lallana managed just 13 league appearances last season, while he only made 12 in the campaign for that, and Liverpool have certainly moved on since Lallana was last able to play a major role for the team.
The likes of Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner are well ahead of him in the pecking order, so a move away from the club at the end of the season certainly seems inevitable for Lallana.
A return to Southampton has been suggested, while a spectacular switch to Paris Saint-Germain was bizarrely mentioned back in November (which is obviously not going to happen).
Clubs from Major League Soccer and the Chinese Super League are also thought to be monitoring Lallana, so he will likely have no shortage of offers to choose between when he does eventually leave Anfield.
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Source: 90min
